Eighth European Conference on Quality in Official Statistics, Q201631 May-3 June 2016, Madrid

The Eighth European Conference on Quality in Official Statistics (Q2016), organized by the National Statistical Institute of Spain in collaboration with Eurostat, was held from 1 to 3 June 2016 in Madrid, Spain. Since their inception in 2001, these conferences have become an ideal setting for the presentation and discussion of advances and developments concerning quality in official statistics and for the exchange of methods and good practices among experts from different fields (Statistical offices, international organizations, researchers and academics).

The Conference program comprised 44 parallel sessions and three plenary sessions, which dealt with current issues of interest for official statistics, such as quality management, governance and coordination in statistical systems, the implications of Peer Review, or the quality of administrative data usage and Big Data. In addition, the day before the conference, on May 31, 2016, a series of training courses were taught by international specialists.

The Conference was attended by around 500 participants from official statistics and from the world of university and research of over 50 countries, including Member States, partner countries and candidates for the European Union as well as from other nations, such as the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil and China... Also represented were the main international institutions involved in official statistics such as the European Statistical Governance Advisory Board (ESGAB), the European Statistical Advisory Committee (ESAC), the European Central Bank, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) The Statistical Division and other agencies of the United Nations, the World Tourism Organization, etc

In addition to revealing the high participation, the development of the conference has been valued highly, both in its organizational aspects and the scientific content of the program, as reflected in the satisfaction surveys and other evaluation methods used (reports of the chairpersons of the sessions, etc.). A summary of the results and achievements of the conference can be found in the document Q2016 Evaluation Report.

INE, as the main organizer of Q 2016, wishes to thank all the participants, speakers, chairmen and members of the Committees, for taking part in the Conference. Their scientific input, fruitful discussions and interaction among participants contributed to the success of the conference.

All presentations, documents and pictures from this edition are available on the conference website q2016.ine.es